Friday afternoon, W. and I traveled down to the NC/TN state line and spent the afternoon at Max Patch. After hiking part of the Appalachian Trail through the woods up to the summit, we laid in the grass staring up at the deep blue sky … feeling the sun on our faces. It was a great afternoon getaway.

On Saturday, Preston, Tom and I strapped on out packs and headed up the Sam Branch Cascade. The intention was to make it to the top of that huge rocky outcropping that the trail goes by. After much huffy and puffing (and some serious climbing and scrambling) we made it to the top. There’s a fantastic view from up there. When you look down off the rock and follow Sam Branch up the mountain, you can see that there is a huge waterfall at the very top of the mountain. There’s now talk of going back soon and following the branch up the mountain so that we can see that waterfall up close.

Preston on top of the rock.

Here’s a cautious view of the drop off. You can see Sam Branch way down there.

The hearty adventurers (Preston, Chas., Tom) pose for posterity.

There was a lot of butt sliding on the way back down. Yes … the trail is really that steep.

Tom takes a rest break by the icy waters of Sam Branch.